I'm just starting to wonder if Shaun Wane was ever the right choice to succeed McGuire at Wigan, I was very surprised when he was named as assistant and even more so when he got the top job.

They're not the same as they were under MM, they're not as solid and don't seem as ruthless or tight knit as a group. SW showed his naivety on a few occasions last year most notably the loss at Widnes and playing te young full back in a high pressure play off game against Leeds. He also made the most obvious gaffe when talking up how tough his pack was before they played Warrington who subsequently went on to crush Wigan in the forwards.

Now he selects a bunch of kids to go to HKR and face a near on full strength SL team and when they get beat up he throws them under a bus telling every reporter who'll listen that he's furious and disappointed.

Nothing wrong with a coach expecting more from a promising group of youngsters. I'd have been more disappointed if he shrugged the result off and blamed youth / inexperience.

Wigan are likely to take a step back this season, but Wane isn't the issue, rather a general loss of talent and quality from the squad that couldn't be replaced.

Taking nothing away from MM, but his second season at Wigan, aside from the CC win, would have been judged more disappointing than Wane's first. I personally thought that Wane did an excellent job of giving youngsters their first taste of SL in 2012 notwithstanding the hiccup at Widnes.

They got progressively worse the longer the season went on, suggests to me that it was as McGuires influence faded so did Wigan.

I disagree. We started of poorly, then hit a real purple patch mid season where we brilliant, then faded fast at the back end of the season, probably due seemingly to fatigue. Now whilst that was down to Wane not rotating the squad properly, it is untrue to say we got progressively worse.

You have played two friendlies with a young squad both times. Wane may be disappointed in the young talent and to be honest do you blame him? He maybe thought the talent was better than it actually is. There is no doubt that when the season ends you will be in the top 4. To be disappointed in friendlies is a bit OTT to be honest especially when you had your youngsters out both times.

sorry but having seen the teams wigan have put out in the friendlies, i can't see how anyone can blame wane for the defeats, all he has done is what more super league coaches should do is have a good look at his young players in a non competetive game. no doubt they will be in the top 4 again this season but the only worry is the players brought in to replace finch and leuluai, certainly extremely hard acts to follow.....................

"Why is Napoleon crying ?" said one sailor to the other, "poor ###### thinks he's being exiled to st helens" came the reply.

sorry but having seen the teams wigan have put out in the friendlies, i can't see how anyone can blame wane for the defeats, all he has done is what more super league coaches should do is have a good look at his young players in a non competetive game. no doubt they will be in the top 4 again this season but the only worry is the players brought in to replace finch and leuluai, certainly extremely hard acts to follow.....................

If I'm honest, I'm not sure of the point of playing a youth team in friendlies. It annoys the hell out of me when clubs charge a decent amount for what is essentially a youth game, simply because they know fans will pay it as they have been missing their Rugby.

I'm not sure what Wigan will have got out of their two games so far - personally I prefer introducing youth players in with the decent players. I want to see what young lads can do running off the 1st team halves and so on. But that's Wane's choice and who am I to argue with his record.

On his actual coaching record, I think it is harsh to say Wigan have gone backwards, although I do have some doubts about his temperament. He is often seen and heard losing his rag and showing his frustration. Maguire did used to do this, but I think he was more controlled about it - similar to many of the other top coaches. I wonder whether this affects his clear thinking and direction when it comes to the big games, which their record is not brilliant in under Wane. That said, that is just my opinion as an outsider, and often people's persona is completely different to how they speak to the press or look on TV during a match.

If I'm honest, I'm not sure of the point of playing a youth team in friendlies.

I guess the early days are difficult as you'll have some lads who played play-off and representative rugby or had operations/treatment in the close season so will be at a different stage of pre-season to those lads who may not have played since September and are itching for a game.

Good chance to mix it up a bit for me look at fringe players and those graduating from the first team. From a fans point of view, I don't think anyone was under any illusions as to what team was being put out at Leigh.

Anyone concerned about a coach the calibre of Wane at this stage is a clown or a troll, delete as you see fit.

This is the right time to give them a chance, they'll only get better by playing together.

Nothing to worry about, wane has done well at Wigan, not enough British coaches in our game.

No one can doubt his passion for WRLFC

Is Wane not showing that he learns from his mistakes?

There is a time and a place to find out whether your youngsters can handle SL quality, and it is not in a regular season fixture as he discovered last season on a couple of occasions. He and his staff already know what the first team squad can do, how they fit together and know that it is going to be a long season this year, is there a pressing need to start them in the 'friendlies'?

I imagine he sees pre-season the best opportunity to cast an eye over the younger Wigan players to see who is ready or not to make the step up.

Wane's point is that he expects his youngsters to perform better than they did - after the first warm-up game he said they made some mistakes he would not expect even youngsters to make. Nothing wrong with being aspirational and make it clear that there are standards he expects them to attain. I am sure internally he gives weighting to the fact it was a young squad. He's trying to create a no excuses culture, which I think is a good thing.